Using a genetic mapping technique developed at Florida State University, FSU and Cornell University researchers have shown that a small percentage of the entire maize genome is responsible for almost half of a plant’s trait diversity.

Hank Bass, associate professor of biological science at FSU, and Daniel Vera, director of the FSU Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine, combined their expertise in maize genome mapping with the statistical genomics expertise of colleagues at Cornell University, Eli Rodgers-Melnick and Ed Buckler. Together they found that a small portion of chromatin — the complex of DNA and its associated proteins — accounts for 40 percent of heritable trait diversity in maize.

That means a small portion of the chromatin holds a vast amount of information that accounts for traits such as plant size, shape, yield and stress response.

“What blew me away about this work is how informative this chromatin profiling technique is at mapping the functionally important part of the maize genome,” Bass said.

Identifying this part of the genome greatly narrows the area that is examined for maize breeding and genomic editing, which may greatly accelerate the pace for crop improvement. This means growers might be able to more quickly target areas of the genome that could help them develop crops that are more drought resistant or durable in adverse environments.

“It allows us to start pinpointing the single base pair changes [small mutations] that are regulating or allowing plants to adapt to their environment,” Buckler said. “It helps us narrow down the hunt dramatically.”

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